


Favorites

by Lucigoosey_The_Lightbringer



Series: Renegades (Steven Universe: Homeworld AU) [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bittersweet, Brainwashing, Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld au, I Am My Mom Gone Wrong, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Implied/Referenced Memory Loss, Memory Loss, Renegades Steven Universe AU, Soldier Steven Universe, Steven Universe Homeworld AU, battle training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28236816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucigoosey_The_Lightbringer/pseuds/Lucigoosey_The_Lightbringer
Summary: "What's your favorite thing about Homeworld?"| Set during the events of IARQ (I Am Rose Quartz.)
Relationships: Steven Universe & Agate, Steven Universe & Berry, Steven Universe & Candy, Steven Universe & Clementine, Steven Universe & Lemon Lime, Steven Universe & Mandarin, Steven Universe & Original Gem Character(s), Steven Universe & Sage, Steven Universe & Tangerine
Series: Renegades (Steven Universe: Homeworld AU) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918204
Comments: 12
Kudos: 32





	Favorites

"What's your favorite thing about Homeworld?"

The question is so quiet that Steven isn't entirely sure Berry even hears him. They're sitting in her lab, waiting for Lemon Lime to return with some kind of specific tool she needs for the ship. Steven, at the moment, is cross-legged on the floor, leaning back on his limb enhancers with his eyes shut. The mechanical fingers curl against the floor, tip-tapping every so often to create a rhythm just loud enough to keep him awake and alert, but low enough that it doesn't bother her. The Ruby in question turns her head toward him silently, and she's still staring when he finally blinks his eyes open to look up, mouth opening in preparation to repeat his question. When he sees her staring at him, however, he slowly snaps it shut, furrowing his eyebrows. "... what?"

"That's an odd question," Berry replies, raising an eyebrow at him. She shifts where she sits to face him, and the hybrid pushes himself up a bit more to hunch forward, crossing his arms in his lap while the Ruby glances him over with a thoughtful expression written on her face. "Why?"

Steven shrugs. He doesn't know why. He's bored, he's tired, he wants to stay awake. And he's curious. He wants to know what Berry likes about Homeworld - if such a thing even exists at all.

Berry purses her lips after a moment, and for a second Steven doesn't think she's going to reply. But she does, although she does so without looking at him; her eyes flit around the room for a moment, taking in the tools and electronics and devices littered around them. Then she turns her head to look back toward the half-built ship just a few feet away from them. Steven follows her gaze briefly, but it doesn't take him too long to return his attention back to her, waiting patiently for an answer he's not sure he's going to get. He does. "The technology," she replies, turning her head back to finally meet his gaze again. He looks at her, curious, and then nods.

* * *

"What's your favorite thing about Homeworld?" Steven asks Candy next, during obedience training. The Pearl blinks at him owlishly for a few seconds, looking genuinely caught off guard. The fan she's spinning in her hand slows to a complete stop, eyes focused on him, curious. He stares back just as intently, eager to hear whatever she has to say - but there isn't anything yet.

"Um…" Candy tilts her head, silent for a moment, looking puzzled. "I don't… know."

Steven frowns, but he doesn't have much time to talk this out with her; it's not long before Blue Diamond comes in to usher him back to his Room, and the conversation is dropped - for now.

* * *

"What's your favorite thing about Homeworld?" He asks Tangerine during battle training.

Her response is instant; she grabs the scythe in his hands, twisting sharply and shoving forward against him. It's not long before he's sent backwards, skidding across the floor. "Training! Now get up so I can kick your butt again, Quartzy!"

* * *

"Hey, Lime?"

Lemon Lime's gaze doesn't move from Berry for a few seconds; Steven and the Peridot had been watching the Ruby intently as she works on the ship, both afraid to interrupt the delicate process. It's one of her quiet days, the days she doesn't speak while she works and makes it clear that she doesn't want to be spoken to. But that rule doesn't apply to the two of them, no; as long as they keep their voices low and don't interrupt her focus, she doesn't care what they do. It takes a moment for the Peridot to direct their attention to Steven, shaking their head slightly as if to force themself to focus. Steven offers a small, reassuring smile as they turn their attention back to him completely, and they smile back somewhat tentatively. "Yeah? What's up?"

"I have kind of a weird question," Steven starts, puffing his cheeks out thoughtfully for a second. Lemon Lime tilts their head toward him, curious. "What's your favorite thing about Homeworld?"

Like Berry and Candy, Lemon Lime looks startled by the question. Maybe even more so than they had been. The Peridot pauses, mouth half-open as they struggle to formulate a response, then slowly snaps it shut as a more contemplative look darkens their features. They don't respond for a good few minutes, just staring at him; Steven eventually turns his gaze back to Berry while he waits for the Peridot to think his answer over, patient as ever, and _very_ curious. He's curious what the gems here think of their home. How they feel about it. If they _love_ it - or at least, if they love any parts of it. Lemon Lime doesn't disappoint with their answer. It's tentative, confused, but genuine. "My friends." The Peridot's gaze strays toward Berry, then to the door. "Berry, and Candy, and you… I don't like Homeworld, but it's not so bad with you guys around."

Steven would be lying if he said his eyes weren't stinging after that.

* * *

"What's your favorite thing?" He asks Agate, off-hand one day, as she takes him to train with Sage again. The gem doesn't pause, but her eyes snap over to him. "About Homeworld?"

She narrows her eyes at him as she steps onto the warp pad; he can practically see the gears turning in her head as he hops up onto it beside her. It's a genuine question; he's curious about her, too. This is her home, after all. And she seems to be pretty fond of it, at least he thinks so. He's curious, he's _thinking_. He wants to get into their heads, he wants to see what it's like from their perspective instead of thinking about it like a prisoner. He wants to know, because it has to be more than it seems on the surface, a bunch of unhappy gems following the commands of giant intergalactic space dictators. There has to be love, there has to be loyalty, there has to be _something_ for the planet they came from. There has to be a reason they're still here. "Odd question, 8BR," Agate grunts without answering, staring at the warp stream. "Why do you ask?"

Steven almost smiles. Berry had said the same thing. "I'm curious," he admits honestly. "This is your home. I have favorite things about…" He stops himself just in time, just before the earrings can give him that warning little shock, and looks away from her. He barely sees her turn her head back in his direction from the corner of his eye, but he still can't make himself look again. "I just wanna know, that's all. You don't have to tell me," he mumbles, falling silent for a moment.

She's silent, herself, for quite some time. She only speaks again when the warp ends; he lands gracefully beside her and starts to step off before she does, but she reaches out to stop him. He'd be lying if he said he didn't flinch from her touch for a second, but it's not painful, just firm. Agate pulls him to a stop and he finally turns his head to look up at her again, confused, wary.

"How much it's grown."

He blinks, breath catching for a second, startled. "What?"

Agate grits her teeth and sighs, and releases him again, stepping down from the warp pad. "My favorite thing is how much it's grown." She pauses, looking over the side of the arena for a moment. Steven follows her gaze to the giant, towering buildings. "I'd started to think it couldn't." She falls silent then, turning away and walking off. He doesn't follow for a few seconds, continuing to stare out at the buildings. It takes him a moment, he'll admit, to realize that she doesn't mean how it's grown in a physical sense; the buildings, the arenas, the towers. Despite himself, the thought brings a smile to his face as he finally turns to follow after his mentor.

For the first time, he starts to wonder if Homeworld could really be _that bad._

* * *

"What's your favorite thing about Homeworld?" He asks Clementine and Mandarin when they start preparing to go to war, to their first battle. The Jaspers pause, briefly halting in fussing with their weapons to look up at him. They don't look confused in the slightest, just curious, thoughtful. They exchange a glance after a few seconds, eyebrows furrowing in thought, then look away from him to glance around. Steven does the same, falling silent for a few seconds. Sage and Agate are several feet away, talking, and Tangerine is with Berry, Candy and Lemon Lime, working on his new weapon. For the time being, the three of them are completely alone. The silence doesn't stretch for too long; Mandarin still looks curious, lost in thought, but Clementine turns back to him eventually with a smile on her face, a soft sparkle in her eyes.

"Us," she admits. "Gems."

Mandarin follows next, grinning now as she looks back up at him. "Life. There's so much life." She looks away from him for a second, looking out at the rest of the planet as Agate had. Steven finds himself following her gaze again. "The colors, the gems, our jobs, our colonies, our race, our planet - all of it. Homeworld…" Her voice softens briefly, as does her expression. Steven finds himself lost, mesmerized. "Homeworld is my favorite thing about Homeworld."

* * *

"I did figure something out."

Steven doesn't pause what he's doing, not yet. Candy stands nearby, still watching him train. It's been a little while since he's started, since she'd come out to talk to him about the war, about fighting, about the rebellion… regardless, he doesn't stop until he's taken the dummy out yet again, and once he's satisfied that it'll be taking its time reforming, he finally turns back to the Pearl. Lost in the adrenaline, in the fight, he doesn't quite understand what she's referencing until she clarifies it for him, "what you asked me before, my favorite thing about Homeworld." The Pearl pauses to glance over her shoulder, back toward the arsenal. Steven follows her gaze curiously, then turns back for a second to watch the dummy reform, bracing himself silently.

But he still speaks to her, because he's still curious, he still wants to know, "yeah? What is it?"

"I have to go with Lime." Candy chuckles, and Steven, briefly caught off guard, immediately turns his head back around to look at her again. "Homeworld's the reason we met. They're my first friend." The Pearl presses her lips together, thinking, then murmurs, "for a while, they were my only friend. They're my favorite thing about this place." She shuts her eyes, leans her head back, and sighs. It's a quiet sound, a _tired_ sound. Steven can't help but stare, for a moment.

He also can't help but smile.

* * *

"What's your favorite thing about Homeworld?" He asks Sage, a week before they leave Homeworld. They're watching the new soldiers train, helping with their techniques. He pauses, calling ahead to one of the Quartzes to mind their balance, but he turns his attention back to Sage quickly enough. She's silent, curious, contemplative. Her gaze doesn't move, fixed ahead.

"My Diamond," she finally answers. Then she asks, "what's yours?"

He's too startled to respond right away. Now he understands why everyone pauses, takes a moment to contemplate, looks at him funny, says it's an odd question. It is an odd question. One that he's not entirely sure he has the answer to. He furrows his eyebrows, moving his gaze away from the soldiers for a second to look up toward the sky - such a pretty swirl of colors, he'll really never get used to it, never get sick of it - and presses his mouth into a thin, neutral line. His favorite thing about Homeworld. He isn't entirely sure; he likes training. He loves his friends. He… feels _something_ toward his Diamond, such complicated emotions he can't concentrate on. But he doesn't know what his favorite thing about the planet - his own home planet - could be.

He stares at the sky for a moment, gazes at the soft colors. Comforting, warm… and it clicks. He can't help but smile to himself when it does, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"How beautiful it is," he murmurs. The planet makes his heart sing. Looking at the sky fills him with such an indescribable warmth. The buildings, the structures, the colors, the whole planet. It's gorgeous, it's breathtaking, it's so unimaginably _exquisite._ He'll never get used to it. He'll never get over it. This is his planet, his home - and, stars, what a beautiful place it really is.

(Oh, and the friends and family he'd made aren't so bad either.)


End file.
